The Wide World of Multimedia Engineering

Mr. Anthony
Tannoury, Lecturer and Researcher at Université Antonine’s faculty
of Engineering, is certainly the person you should ask about multimedia
engineering. This major, which isn’t widespread in Lebanese universities, is
often misinterpreted, as multimedia, which consists of audio and/or video
content, tends to be solely associated to graphic design graduates. However, it
is very much dependent of engineers, as it relies on the right technology,
software and structure to function right. Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality
are, for example, multimedia projects developed by computer engineers, aka programmers.
They are being used, more than ever now, in all kinds of domains and for unlimited
purposes, some of which are discussed below. The same applies to Games
applications which require a map development, interfacing, code writing,
designing, etc.

Multimedia
engineering also refers to multimedia solutions to insure proper interactivity
between the user and the device supporting the content.

Concretely,
Mr. Tannoury told Unileb about a final project at the Faculty of Engineering,
which consists of detecting music in a user’s car, allowing Google Maps to
detect locations playing similar music and suggesting them to the driver. This
mood detection obviously requires a mobile app, linked to Google Maps and a
sound processing system; it opens up countless marketing opportunities.

Games
and Technologies

UA is
one of the very few universities offering a games development program where 2D
and 3D games count as senior projects.

Though
the word “game” might typically refer to fun, it is actually quite useful in
education, amongst other things. Mr. Tannoury previously worked at Pearson
College London, in collaboration with the Educational Research Center (ERC) in
Lebanon, where he developed games for e-learning and education, so students can
learn in an innovative, fun and interactive way.

Whenever
gaming includes AR and VR (see Unileb’s “Mixed Up Realities” article on the
subject), the utility of a game reaches its peak: instead of relying on a static
board or book, students can get into the 3rd dimension with the VR
glasses, and go inside a human body where pop ups explain everything they need
to know about each organ. They can learn about animals by paying a virtual
visit to a zoo, stopping by each animal to learn more about it, without the
presence of a guide.

As a
collateral result, many jobs are slowly being threatened with the presence of
the technological realities; but on the other hand, they are triggering major
marketing and business possibilities:

Imagine
being able to see the items of shopping catalog in 3D, simply by using
your smart phone. Better, imagine if you could virtually try the item.
This was part of a student’s final project, last year, at Université Antonine’s branch in
Zahleh, where he aimed to put AR at the service of e-commerce.

Another
project suggested virtual house decoration. How practical would it be to
view different colors and materials right in your space and pick
accordingly? Same can be applied to a car you intend to buy from a car
dealer.

Away
from business and into the Military: simulation can be used for soldiers when
shoot practicing. Instead of using real munitions, they get to shoot on
screens which are not only less costly, but also register and track their
performances, which can then be peculiarly evaluated and corrected.

Augmented Reality is everywhere now; that was discussed
during the Open Day for Data Science Forum, 2016, which took place last month at
UA, in the presence of a number of renowned speakers. Dr.
Jimmy Nassif, Project Lead AI & VR at BMW Logistics, explained how
multimedia is becoming a customer requirement: with the help of glasses, the
driver can see a virtual board in front of him, including a speedometer, the
fuel level, time remaining to destination, location search through google maps…etc.
On some cars, a heart rate sensor is being installed for the driver to be able
to detect any abnormality; in case of problem, the closest emergency building
is located; those are just a few examples.

3D
Scene reconstruction

Mr. Tannoury’s thesis focuses mainly on how to
reconstruct a 3D scene through the wireless multimedia sensor network. The use
of multiple cameras connected through the internet, to a sensor network and capturing
all angles of a space/object/body, provides a 360 view in real time; the data
is then sent to a server to reconstruct the image. Segmentation is done on the environment,
objects and individual; therefore, every single detail is seen. This means that
any threat can be detected and alerted on the spot. This feature is without a
doubt extremely useful, compared to conventional surveillance cameras which
film a certain space but rely on an agent to observe 24/7 what is being filmed.
In a different case, bridges can be supervised by filming them with the 3D reconstruction
system which then detects any cracks or irregularities. And the list of examples goes on. The internet
not only makes this possible but opens up prospects for people and business worldwide.

Naturally,
every new technology brings safety concerns along with its benefits, and it is
expected that users would be suspicious with sensor networking. But then again,
everyone was hesitant, at first, to use e-commerce for online shopping? It goes
back to using every new technology the right way. The safety topic was brought
up during the ODDS’16 forum; it was suggested that all domains and sectors work
together to create a stronger and safer system.

It is
pretty clear and obvious that possibilities are endless; this is probably what the
creators aimed for: reach the world.